Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Mallacoota Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The last town before the border: an inlet of two lakes, a bar to the sea and a coast of empty beaches and rock at the far east of Victoria.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 1:00 am model
Air / High
15 °C / 17 °C
Wind
WSW 14 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Mallacoota rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 14 km/h, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Tides: high 7:12 am and 7:17 pm, low 1:00 am and 1:06 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Fair
Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 14 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing bream here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Mallacoota today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:44), sunset (18:00), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Sat
LOW1:00 am-0.66 m
HIGH7:12 am0.41 m
LOW1:06 pm-0.54 m
HIGH7:17 pm0.49 m
Sun
LOW1:34 am-0.66 m
HIGH7:45 am0.42 m
LOW1:53 pm-0.71 m
HIGH8:00 pm0.34 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low17 °C / 11 °C
WindWSW 14 km/h, gusts 29 km/h
Pressure1024.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain92% cloud, 95%
Sunrise / Sunset05:44 / 18:00
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Mallacoota
The best day on Mallacoota this week looks like Monday 28 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Monday, 28 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:44 to 18:00
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 29 km/h
- Rain chance
- 95%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Mallacoota: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Best: November to April
Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Mallacoota calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Mallacoota today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by VFA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Victoria licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The Victorian licence rules apply, A$10 for three days up to A$111.20 for three years online, unless an exemption covers you; see our Victoria licence page.
About this water
Mallacoota is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Mallacoota: the full guide
Mallacoota and the inlet
Mallacoota is a small town on the inlet of the same name in the far east of Victoria, surrounded by Croajingolong National Park, and its fishing is the inlet first: the Bottom Lake by the town and the Top Lake upstream, joined by a narrow channel and fed by the Genoa and Wallagaraugh rivers, with the entrance and its bar opening to Bass Strait. Outside are Betka Beach, the rock platforms of the coast and the offshore reefs; Gabo Island is the landmark to the east.
Species by season
Bream and flathead are the inlet’s fish, the bream around the snags and the rock walls all year and the flathead on the sand of the Bottom Lake and the entrance in the warmer months; luderick fish the entrance rocks in winter; whiting work the sand in summer; and mulloway, tailor and salmon run the entrance and the beaches in their seasons. The rivers upstream hold estuary perch and bass, the rocks give salmon, tailor and the odd kingfish, and the offshore reefs fish for snapper and flathead when the bar allows.
Reading this report here
The wind row decides between the inlet and the coast: a south-westerly or a big swell closes the bar and the rocks and puts the fishing in the lakes, a northerly flattens the coast. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and the inlet’s tidal influence depends on whether the entrance is open, which changes; the Bureau of Meteorology has the coastal prediction.
Licence and access
The Victorian licence rules apply, A$10 for three days up to A$111.20 for three years online, unless an exemption covers you; see our Victoria licence page. The inlet foreshores, the wharf, the beaches and the rocks are public, with ramps on the Bottom Lake and at the entrance; the VFA limits are on the page in the sources, and the national park and the Cape Howe marine park have zones to check.
Common questions
What can I catch in Mallacoota Inlet?
Bream and flathead, luderick at the entrance in winter, whiting in summer, and mulloway and tailor at the entrance in season.
Do I need a licence to fish in Mallacoota?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies.
Is fishing good at Mallacoota right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.